Monthly Archives: January 2013

Today we were christened into the kingdom of trolls as we woke up in the tunnels of Guanajuato. The constant dripping of water and the loud reverberating echoes of passing cars kept us awake for most of the night. Perhaps this is why trolls have a reputation for being grumpy. Every now and then Thomas would break out into laughter in disbelief that is was possible for those cars to be that loud. Still, spending the night in the tunnels was totally worth it. All of us are awestruck by this city. It is an elaborately woven together wonder of cobblestone streets, surrounded by vertical walls whose jutting grandeur is accented by colorful houses stacked on top of each other and angled braces that support them as they overhang the streets. There are mazes of tunnels all throughout the city, popping up here and there and disappearing with only a hint of their existence. This is definitely one of my favorite cities so far.

Going for a run this mountainous town was exhilarating but very tiring. Up mountains of technicolor homes, down steep staircases, through underground tunnels, around the city square… it was beautiful!

DAY28 おはぁちゃんがなくなった。 2日間、携帯が壊れてインターネットを繋げていなかった私は何も知らなかったけど、 海外によく行っている私は大事な知らせを後から知る事がある。 父からのメール おばぁちゃんが亡くなりましたとても寂しいです。 92歳と81日の歳月を生き抜いて来ました。 戦争、子育て、夫の仕事を手伝い、不平不満を言わず、私たちを愛し続けてくれました。 私が今ここまでこれたのは、お母さんのおかげです本当にありがとう。ちひろ、人生精一杯楽しんでいこう。 お父さん、いつも私を信頼してくれてありがとう。信頼されていることがどれほど、前に進む力になっているかと思う。 「旅に出る前におばぁちゃんに会って行けば良かったな。。。」 良い日も悪い日もあるし、好きな人も嫌いな人もいるかもしれないけど、そんな時、「今、目の前にいるこの人と、あと、何回会うことが出来るのだろう？」と考えると、その人が愛おしくなったり、もっと優しくなれたりする。だから、私は誰かに出会う時、そう思うようにしてる。 ありがとう。おばぁちゃん。 My Grandmother died. I had no connection to internet last few days. I didn’t have any idea about this situation in Japan. I often go abroad. So sometimes, I know these things after the things happen. Email from Dad Your grandma died. I am really sad. She lived for a 92-year-old and 81 days. She always loved us no matter what. War, parenting, helping her husband’s work she have never complained. I can be here now ‘cus of my mother. Truly thank you, mother. Chihiro, Expose and Enjoy your Life. Thank you Dad. You’ve always trusted me. It encourage me to do a lot of things in my life. I wish I could visit my grandma before leaving to this trip… I try to think this way when I see people, “this might be the last time I see them,” so I will appreciate more the present moment with them. I think all of our relationships can change if we think this way, and for the better. Thank you so much Grandma. Chihiro 22 Jan 2013 Guadarajara

Perfectly round Tortillas are taken for granted. Machines do them most of the time, their perfect round shape tortilla after tortilla, coutesy of technology.
It has been a long time since I have eaten home made tortillas, my mom used to make them when I was a child, but I never learned, specially how to stretch them with your hands. I was fortunate enough to try it in the city of El Triunfo, where we stopped to eat, the cook was out of tortillas and needed to make more. She started making the masa, I went towards the kitchen and sat down to learn and talk to Consuelo the cook and her mom Josefina. The kitchen was old style with a wood fed stove and a comal on the side, a big pan had refried beans and the other some kind of meat. She was working on making the tortillas, she would pour boiling water on the masa and she would knead it with out flinching.

As she finished with the masa, she told me that creating tortillas and cooking took some art and asked me to try it, I went and washed my hands, and went on to become a tortilla maker. It was very hard, and the ladies loughed at me, but after some work and a lot of stress from not doing it right, I finished my first homemade tortilla, I shared it with Thad and we enjoyed it. Even thou it wasn’t perfectly circular, it was delicious.

For those adventuring females out there, I shall make a list and some comments about what I have learned as a female traveler.

Best purchases :

The “Diva Cup”, used for your very anticipated days.
I was quite scared when I decided to use it, and I was a bit shaken, but after realizing the first time that I wasn’t supposed to insert it too deeply. Once re adjusted I went swimming, and forgot about it. The device is easy, and nothing to trow away, no extra use of toilet paper to attempt hiding it. Cheaper, cleaner, and more comfortable, the only thing it doesn’t do is help with cramps. I highly recommend it.

Baby wipes :

Can’t live without them, sadly enough you will not find your favorite brand every time, but they are still incredibly useful and I seems to start depending on them.

Sunglasses:
Even if they are 5 dollars, get them, they will save your eyes.

Sunblock:
The sun is not a friend to your skin, I assumed since I can tan that I will be less damaged by it, but I feel like I didn’t put enough attention to my body. As time passes, I realize I still have a lot to learn about how to take care of myself for future years. Sunblock was one of those lessons that I wish I would have followed earlier.

Vibrams:
My toe shoes are my little vise. I find them comfortable and enjoy them deeply. Quite a few complements about them.

Floss:
Floss them teeth.

To end this post I realize my needs might not match yours.
That takings things for granted at different stages or your life is common. That constant change or constant monotony can create a comfort zone where leaving it might require unknown, sacrifices. Unknown can create fears, and fears are usually avoided by humans.

It was time to look for a place to sleep and we ended in Mismoloya, where the small beach provided much entertainment and lots of people to keep us busy.
During the morning Thad, Thomas and I went for a run, at first it was going to be a short and sweet one, but ended up being long and amazing. We started our run though the small city across the main street and away from the beach, as we run up for a bout a mile or more, we saw a sign saying “Waterfalls 2 miles”. We decided to run for it, and make it to the waterfalls. We run up and beat the couple riding the horses, i felt proud of my 30 year old self for acomplishing that. Once we were almost ot the top we saw a gate that made us stop and take a pictures, we were saying that it looked like going into Jurasic park, and there were signs of “Predator”, altho we didn’t know what it meant, we continued running, at the end we realized that it was the set for the movie Predator. The crashed helicopter was there, and a beautiful restaurant that was cleaned every morning.
And we hadn’t seen the waterfall, when we saw it we realized it was a very small one. We realized that the waterfall could be used as a slide, and the fun started from there,, a slide and a swing rope that brought some fear into my heart before trying it, and some awesome feelings of accomplishment once i went down on it, or swing from it. LIFE IS AWESOME.
We run back a lot faster then we got there, specially because it was downhill and we covered the 3 miles or more quite fast.
After the 6 or more mile run, we went back to WIGGLES where we met Chewey.
Our soon to be guide Chewey very much fancy Chihiro and gave us a good deal to go snorkeling.
Snorkeling was so much fun, we got to see fish of all sizes and many colors, the water was a bit murky and it was difficult to take good pictures of them. But the fun was incredible, and we enjoyed the swiming and specially swiming through the cave, we did that a few times, just for the fun of it.
Full of smiles we got back on the boat and started on our way bac, when Chewey ( our guide) saw a big while jumping, and we stayed a bit longer to watch the whales at work. WHAT A DAY !!! and it was not over.

Yes, there was a shower waiting for us. It came with lots of espectators, but i really didn’t care, i shampoo and washed and felt refreshed. Went to wiggles and we relaxed and later had a night meal, and served double for the two man that were starving in our car. It seems the calorie count was low and it was time for them to fill up. We finalized the day with massages, we all enjoyed a relaxing massage and we were ready to go to sleep.

The next morning the favorite word was “Gallo” (Rooster) and something about killing it. It didn’t know when morning was, it just kept cooing over and over again. Even the locals were talking about it, sometimes about killing it.
We got ready and prepared ourselves to go. Good bye Mismaloya.

We drove back to Puerto Vallarta, where we ate in a street stand, and enjoyed some conversation with the cooks. Were able to find a good map and the usb connection for the SD cards. All of these errands were done much faster than we had expected. Great cheers for finding the perfect parking area.
We drove around Puerto Valllarta less touristic areas, and I so impressed and exited about the architecture, and how foreng it looked in comparison to the city where i grew up, being Orem Utah.

Then we started to drive towards Guadalajara, going torugh the Sierra Madre de el Sur, and finding amazing views with strange pines, and layers of mountains, i counted 6 layers, and was sad to know that the camera wouldn’t be able to captures the beauty of it. Next stop Mascota Jalisco.

Niceties out and straight forward ness in, Mascota Jalisco makes me think of a black hole, a place where a figurative sense of trapping can be possible and is almost palpable. It reminded me of all those times I heard of people that were going to pass by Utah, broke down and stayed. Mascota seemed to be one of those places. Thomas found himself broken down behind the main church, it was still running but it seemed that one of the pistons was out.
It was a good thing that Mascota offered free intent and many streets paved with stones, this made this place quite pretty at first.
Mascota withs it’s energy, vibe, disposition, circumstances, wherever you would like to define it as, left us with a bitter taste. There is not one thing I can point at that would be able to pinpoint why I felt awkward about the place, we left with some negativities. Car broke, camera broke, necklace broke, and Thad and I had an argument, that although we spend much time together it was not normal to occur in the fashion it did, we didn’t like it. We were glad to leave and head towards Guadalajara.

Guadalajara welcomed us with open arms and quick to fulfill the needs and errands we assumed would take a day or more to finish. Went to chillies to eat, since we had a melancholic moment to feel at home and had the worst meal of the trip. I decided to ask for a salad, and it was the worst one I have ever had without exaggeration. The salad was old, and the ends a bit brownish, the meat was incredibly weird, and very undercooked, I left the meat behind. Say hello to MacDonald’s, the savior of the day, it tasted just like home, breakfast was awesome. We went on to take care of the errands, and as I mentioned before, it was fast and efficient, we were done within a few hours and it was time to look around the city. The downtown was amazing, architecturally and culturally, streets small and mostly one way roads. Walked for a bit and found ourselves behind the cathedral. We went towards the park and enjoyed watching the people of Guadalajara at the main point of gathering. We sat until dark and until it was time to go and visit Thomas abut 10 minutes away. Those 10 minutes turned into a much longer endeavor, the phone thought we needed to see more of the city and sent us on what I will assume was the scenic route., buy during the night it was impossible to tell. We finally found him and we decided to go to his cheap hotel to take a shower. The motel was less than appropriate for children, and…… thewater was hot and the shower needed, can’t complain, it cost 25 pesos.

We found a wall with lots of beautiful murals, and decided that it was a good place to sleep, since it was close to where Thomas was going to stay, but as we parked and started to talk and have some loughs, the cops stopped very quick next to us and got out of the car and flashed the lights inside the van. They told us that it not recommended for us to stay there. We said good bye to Thomas and went to look for another place to sleep, next to a park. The park was quite open and had a bar called “Mala Yierba” it seems that we were it the right place and set up wiggles to go to sleep.

The next day we went back to the center and found the most amazing breakfast at a place called “Las Palomas”. They had a plate of fruit with yogurt, with granola for 25 pesos. The plate of fruit was big and delicious, we had to come back the next morning, Chihiro and Thad agreed. Went around the museum, the governmental building, the cathedral, and the mercado, it was fun to walk around. Went back to pick up Thomas, he had finally sold the car and decided to move in with us for an unknown amount of time. Welcome Thomas to wiggles. We went back to the center where we found the best parking spot and were able to stay there for the night. I woke up during the night, and heard the cops talking outside wiggles and laughing, saying now wiggles had two levels and there were four people sleeping in the van, and how cool it was. I specter them to wake us up and ask us to move, but it never happened, it was a good thing because I was quite comfortable.

What a strange twisty turny road this is. The cobblestones of this journey have a way of making parts of my past echo in my mind, making me fixate on the people I miss, the conversations I remember, how it felt to make discoveries together as we delicately danced through the forest of words that mask and tangle our meanings. It feels good to have loved ones, to know that our connection remains even though I am sailing across the Earth in the direction of away.

It is strange to be a traveler, but then again in many ways it feels like I am being me. There are only two elements of this experience that feel unnatural to me. I miss getting to share everything with all of my loved ones, and having them participate in a shared journey, and I long for far more physics time. On both fronts I long for more discovery conversation. We spend so much time a day taking care of just survival, food, getting to where we are going, cleaning Wiggles, staying organized, and absorbing each new place, that the only really meaningful conversations that soak through my skin are the ones that are about the feel of each new place – and these tend to be mostly wordless. I recall the old adage that lower minds focus on things, medium minds focus on people, and great minds focus on ideas. Every now and then part of me feels like the ideas in me are a bit trapped, and I miss having the outlet I used to have. All this focus on places seems a bit narrow to me at times, especially when it comes to the Cathedrals in each town. On the other hand, the newness, and the extent to which this trip has thrown me out of my comfort zone, does help stoke my creativity fire.

Still, I would love to talk with someone right now about the idea that the state vector in quantum mechanics might actually best apply as a description of an ensemble – a collection of the quanta that make up the local spacetime region and how those arrangements may evolve. This assumption would explain why quantum mechanics is restricted to statistical descriptions (so long as we remain restricted to four dimensional information, relying on the state vector). This is a beautiful idea because if space is quantized, then the ambiguity that currently plagues quantum mechanics collapses, and we gain a way to understand the math currently attached to its predictions.

I would also love to just be on a walk right now with one of you, talking like we used to, allowing our connection to continue to grow as we mutually learn more about ourselves and each other. I miss you. I wish you could all be here right now, sharing this adventure. Not having a home (structure) is perfectly fine with me, but not having my loved ones all with me is strange.

Today we drove Wiggles through a place that reminded me of Morocco, or at least what I’ve seen of Morocco from National Geographic. We were wading through people on streets packed with bright colored things hanging off the walls, bursting into every square inch that could be filled. It was amazing to me that we could still fit. The people seemed nearly oblivious to Wiggles pushing through the crowd at one kilometer per hour. In the center of town was another elaborate Cathedral. From all sides of town people were on some kind of pilgrimage to the Cathedral, walking on the highway into town. When they arrived they crawled on their knees up the hallway in the Cathedral. It was amazing to be in the right place at the right time to see into the lives of the people here, but that glimpse also came as a slight sigh to me, recognizing the pain and suffering that their myths are reinforcing. Such things always make me hope for the future, for a world in which people are not held down, where there are no class distinctions, where all people have the option to turn to truth, and discovery for inspiration, and have ready access to routes that allow this. Elaine and Phil have often remarked that they are surprised that I was able to come away from my time in prison hoping for a better future instead of fixating on the flaws of the present. For me understanding human suffering is the same thing as hoping for a better future. Humans will all take the better route if they are given the proper chance. Class restrictions, religion, dogma, crime, etc. can all dissolve if we simply learn to understand each other – which in the end amounts to learning to understand ourselves in a much richer capacity.

DAY11 メキシコに入ってから5日目。マリーとジョニーと別れ、私たちはまたbajacarfolniaを引き続き南下していくと素晴らしい景色が広がっていく。私たちはその景色に惹かれるがままに車を走らせた。国道1号線を少し、西にそれるとそこは誰もいない、ただあるがままの姿の自然だけ、そこにキャンピングカーを止めて、少し休むことにした。 景色がきれいすぎて興奮した。旅をしはじめてから、ずっとキャンピングカーでの生活に慣れない私と新しい人々との生活に慣れない私のぼーっとした脳みそに新しい空気を入れてくれる感じだった。 目が覚めた！ キャンピングカーの上で遊びながら、写真を撮っていると、アンジェラが「こうっやって体を動かして、風を感じながら・・・」なんか、少し恥ずかしい気もしながら、私もやってみた。目を閉じて風を感じながら・・・体が勝手に動いていく。気持ちいい。風にさえ乗れる気がした。今を感じた瞬間だった。東京のような大都会にいると「今」感じる瞬間が、どのくらいあっただろうかと思う。「今」というものは自分次第で感じる事ができるのだと思った。 It has been 5 days since we’ve arrived in Mexico. We said “Good bye” to Marie and Johnny, and we continue to drive down to Baja California. The wonderful scene spreads. We were charmed by the scene every moment. We just drive the car as we follow the scenes. We were in National Route 1 then we swerved the car west from road. Nobody was there. It was only the nature of a merely unvarnished figure. We decided to stop there for a while. The scene was too beautiful and I was excited. Since we began to have traveled, I felt out of it. I am not use to sleeping in a Vanagon and also spending 24hours with new people. It was like putting new air into the brains. I felt so good!!!!!! It woke me up! We were playing and taking photographs on Wiggles. Angela said, ” move your body and feel the wind… ” I tried it while also carrying out somewhat shameful thinking. I closed my eyes and my body started to move freely. It was pleasant moment. I thought I can even ride the winds. It was the moment to feel the present. When I was in a big city like Tokyo, how many times could I actually feel the present? I thought that ” the present ” could be felt according to myself.

In Mazatlan we gathered two other cars, one driven by Thomas, and the other one by George, along with his girlfriend. We wanted to travel the less traveled road and got to see some amazing scenes, and a tire station with a big display for the Virgin Mary. As we traveled though Nayarit, George recommended that we stay at San Blas, a beautiful town on the pacific side that made a point to say they are still part of the Sea of Cortez. We had dinner, and got to give some food to a kitty, but Thad was saying that kitties here are different than the United States ones, their attitudes are not as “I’m the master of my human.” We suspect is because of all the dogs that walk free on the streets. The cats must feel tormented and second class citizens, unlike in the United States, the dogs walk around with a purpose, and have their own social classes and agendas. Is not unusual to see them trotting with goal and possible bone or bitch on their minds. At least i’m assuming those two things would be of great importance to them. In San Blas we went to the beach and found a good place to park, and during the night we played card games and went to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing.

In the morning, Thad and I went on a run, and it was so relaxing and beautiful. We were able to see hundreds of birds hanging out, along with vultures, eating a dead sea gull. Thad got incredibly close, and was able to take close ups of the vulture flying off. The morning run was great, and by the time we came back, George and his girlfriend were going to continue on their trip, and we stayed for a bit longer, we had a quick outside shower and did some breakfasts. Went downtown and checked out the Mision, and the government building, also they had outside vendors and lots of people going around, I saw a 3 day old baby, and this made me realize that he will be part of the next generation of Mexicans. We ate some roasted chicken with very spicy jalapeños and went on our way.

Bienvenidos a Puerto Vallarta, small streets, with lots of tourists. Went to “El Malecon” and went into a store where they sold art pieces from the Huichol Indian, they were very beautiful and colorful. I was glad that i had done some research about them and felt exited of the books I read, there was so much information in my head about them, but the situation made it a bit difficult for me to be able to share my knowledge of the subject.

Due to getting robbed last night, we are now in a McDonalds using wifi and looking for a way to replace our stolen camera for a reasonable price. Angela already superglued the screen back together. Surprisingly, that was the extent of the damage from the break in. I’m taking a moment to post about the spectacular adventure we had in Cabo San Lucas.

The very southern tip if Baja California is a wondrous place – I recommend it to every member of Team Death Punch! Just a few dozen meters before the end of Baja there is a beach on the rough Pacific side (catch the irony) called divorce beach. The locals say that it has that name because of its danger. They say that sometimes when couples go there only one returns. It is also said that every now and then the waves from divorce beach crash all the way up the beach, kissing the beach on the Sea of Cortez side. For this reason the beach on this side is called Lover’s beach.

With or without history, this place was breathtaking. Cream colored sandy beaches separated by black jutting rocks that twist into interesting mountainous shapes, and at the end they come together to form a spectacular arch protected by sea lions. Best of all was the route to that arch. From lover’s beach we climbed through a small tunnel, followed the sandy shore, and then started to time the crashing waves so we could wade along the rocks to a safe sandy null on the other side. From there we walked through a dark cave, one that had waves coming into it from both directions. At the end of that cave we saw the majesty of the arch, a structure that literally divided the Pacific ocean from the Sea of Cortez. The waves were crashing all around us, filling the entire area with the echoes of a rhythmic melody and elevating our pulses. The arch was close in size to Utah’s Delicate Arch, but it was caressed by the tumultuous ocean. Its memory alone tantalizes my nerve endings.

Cabo San Lucas is quite touristy, and it has a very distinct American feel to it. For Team Death Punch members I recommend not worrying too much about the city. But some day, if you get the chance, fly out to CSL with a small waterproof backpack, walk the coast line, sometimes wading or swimming, and make your way to the arch. On the other side there is a huge cave, sandy, with one of the best views in the world. You can camp there all by yourself and watch the sunrise through the arch. I don’t know how you would beat that experience – except for sharing it.

Yesterday we woke up next to the beach in San Blas. We were three cars of travelers that met on the Ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan. Thomas is now a formal part of our crew, at least for now. He is from France, speaks French, Dutch, English, and is a little ahead of me in Spanish. He’s 22, in great shape, full of energy, very positive about life and makes us laugh quite often. We met him on the deck of the ferry, returning from sneaking onto the top restricted area, exactly where we were trying to go. The captain came out just as we all met, and Angela worked her magic to get special permission for us to go up there with the captain. He tried to say no, that it was too dangerous, but I told him that Angela’s nickname is Curva Peligrosa, and she played along. It was a beautiful view from the top. Thomas joined us in our cabin, sleeping on the floor, but having a place to lay down.

George and Stephanie joined us as we were driving off the ferry for the purpose of caravanning through the supposedly “dangerous” state. We had all heard the same rumors, and were heavily cautioned not to do certain things, to not be in states like Nayarit any more than we have to, etc. I have a feeling that most of those rumors are passed on by people that watch the news, and believe it. The information that seeded the rumors might have been based on real events, but the frequency and likelihood of such events occurring on any given day are dramatically exaggerated.

Angela and I went for a morning run on the beach. The run had a serene National Geographic feel to it. We found clam seashells decorated with several long and brittle spines and saw dozens of birds packed along the estuaries that stippled the shoreline. Pelicans, storks, vultures, gulls, the little birds that run up and down the beach as the waves undulate back and forth, some bird with a really thick beak, looking like it has a huge nose, and more. We ran to the end of the beach and back. I took a quick dip in the warm water and then took a Wiggles shower. George and Stephanie headed out to find a surf spot they had on their map. Then the four of us went into the town to check out the local scene and the Mission. Angela bought some super cheap local chicken, tortillas and roasted whole jalapeños. The jalapeños were really hot.

We took the back roads through the small towns. At a stop sign Angela and I were nearly accosted by 8 people who lunged forward to wash our windows and then ask us for money. They were using very scratchy rags, the kind that can permanently scratch your window. I drove off. It was like pushing through a mob with my car, and part of it made me feel bad.

Down the road we starting seeing trees with fruits that we had never seen before. We stopped at a local stand to try some and learned that it is called ‘yaka.’ It’s a huge pod with sharp spikes all over its surface. Inside there are many slimy spheres of fruit, each with its own large smooth seed in it. It tastes pretty good, but its no lingonberry ☺.

As we pressed on, we came to a town where two cops on one motorcycle were waiting. This was the very first time in all of Mexico I had seen cops doing what appeared to be patrolling for speeding. Of course, as the speed limit dramatically cut in half in 10 meters, we were technically speeding for a few seconds. I watched in my mirror and saw the flashing blue and red lights come on. Thomas and Chihiro were behind us. Evidently the cops had decided to pull them over instead of us.

The cops drove into the middle lane alongside Thomas, signaling with their hands for him to pull over. Evidently Thomas didn’t see him. Then the cops pulled behind him and just kept signaling with their hands, lights flashing, and following. Thomas eventually moved over to the right lane, but just kept driving. Angela and I were talking about what the cops must be thinking. Then, surprisingly, the cops gave up and just let him go. So I guess Thomas successfully ignored the cops until they went away. I didn’t know you could do that.

Later I asked him why he didn’t pull over and he said that he thought they wanted him to move over to the right lane, but didn’t know that they wanted him to stop. He said, “until I got the proper signal I wasn’t going to stop.” I asked what the flashing lights meant to him. He said, “well without the siren the lights might just mean that the cops wanted to go fast.”

We made it to Puerto Vallarta in time to watch the sunset from the center. Then we walked around saying “no gracias” every few seconds, turning down people that were offering us things to buy. It was already dark, but we needed to find a good spot to park for the night. So we got some advice from some locals and headed out. The spot we were told about wasn’t quite what we were looking for so we drove on, eventually parking at a place called Mismaloya. This was the best parking spot we had found yet. We were one meter from a freshwater river that poured onto the beach. A small wooden bridge stretched over the river to a dozen small bars and restaurants, and the river was packed full of colorful anchored boats. There was a freshwater shower right next to us and there were toilets.

In the morning I woke up are read some more from my book (Do We Really Understand Quantum Mechanics?), which is turning out to be a spectacular book. Then Angela, Thomas and I went for a run. Thomas was barefoot. The beach wasn’t that long so we decided to run the other direction. After crossing the main road we took random cobblestone roads and ended up on a dirt road that went up a canyon. When we were about to turn around we saw a sign that said ‘2 miles to the waterfalls.’ So now we set our sights on two more uphill miles. (It was listed in miles, not kilometers.) Along the was another sign said “Predator area.” I wondered what that meant. What kind of animal was it talking about?

At the end of the road we found a delightful surprise. The movie Predator was filmed in this location. The crashed helicopter was still there and a beautiful elaborate thatch restaurant/bar had been built right next to it – with the best bathrooms I have ever seen! Best of all, the waterfall we were looking for was right in the middle of all of the action. It was a natural waterslide with a drop off at the end into a clear pool and it was absolutely delightful. There was also a rope to swing off of the structure into the pool.

After playing around in the pool for over an hour, for free, we decided to start the run back. When we made it back we made breakfast in Wiggles, and then bartered for a deal (100 pesos each) to take a boat out to the arches and snorkel. It was more than we bargained for. What a great day. There were lots of fishes, and when it was time to leave we were visited by a whale. Took by best whale tale picture yet ☺ The evening was relaxing and comfortable and it was the perfect temperature. We made dinner together in Wiggles, mashed potatoes and soup that functioned as gravy, played some card games, and then went to sleep. I hope everyone can have days so wonderful.

Pichilingue is about half an hour away from La Paz, and the place where the ferry leaves towards Mazatlan, Sinaloa. Chihiro and I had to go separate from wiggles and Thad, and the wait to get to the ship was much longer from what we expected. As we waited, I saw a couple playing cards, and speaking English. I decided to intrude and see if they wanted to include two more. They were nice and had flown from Japan to La Paz, and then take the ferry to Mazatlan for a wedding, later we met a Argentinian, that worked as a veterinarian, who was traveling by car and driving to Argentina from the US. We seem to meet travelers like us, or at least it seems much easier to find them – I assume because we congregate in specific points of access or information. As the ferry moved, we saw the land move farther away from us, good bye Baja California, we had good times and good memories traveling through you. As we were going we saw stairs leading to the top, where the antennas were and where the highest roof area was. We saw Thomas for the first time jumping over the gate, asked if we could go over there, he said he didn’t know and that he hasn’t asked. I read the signs of no transpassing, and personnel only area, we laughed. A person came out if the front and unlocked the gate, Thad asked if we could go up, he said it was dangerous, Thad replied with “Ella es una curva peligrosa”, that comment must have worked because we were able to go up and take some pictures. Then on to dinner and to the cabin, we invited Thomas to join us, and he did, he is from France and 23 years old, has an awesome sense of humor. We had decided to watch the sunrise, and the alarm sounded at 6:20. We went to the front of the ship, and were readily invited into the pilot’s cabin by the same gentleman that allowed us to go to the antennas level, we found ourselves watching the sunrise from the main cabin, talking to the first in command and at that point the captain, and drinking coffee from a French coffee maker. I couldn’t have Asked for a better way to start the day. I Learned a lot from the well traveled 37 year old.

For those of you thinking of joining us for part of the trip… here’s how we take showers. Super cheap and way more fun than regular showers :-). This was in the middle of a cacti forest, but sometimes we have to take showers is less private places. So far we’ve been quite successful at finding free places to stay. Mexico is awesome!! Come join us xoxo

We went for an amazing barefoot run on the beach and magically came upon these two baby turtles. They had just hatched and were making their way to the ocean and I was the first thing they ever saw. They were so cute. They were having a little bit of a hard time getting where they were going. I watched over them, and helped them get back on their bellies a few times after being knocked over and flipped over by the waves. Then I watched them swim off into the sea. I love baby turtles. This completely made my day. I hope I see those turtles again in 90 years 🙂 Sent from my iPhone

As we drove the main street of Guerrero Negro, our attention was completely captured by a pair of men putting gas into a truck that had run out of it. I regret not having the camera ready, because the man on top of the truck had the most beautiful, gentle, amazing smile. The smile was contagious and my heart was filled with hope towards humanity, his attitude and smile was so full of pure and beautiful human emotion. Sometimes my fatalistic attitude towards human survival tends to take over and forget how beautiful humans are, I know he will never know how much of an impact he made for us. I hope the next time I meet some one like him I can capture it with more than just my mind, so I can share the moment.

That night we went for a Margarita at the local bar, got to meet some Americans that were traveling towards Cabo San Lucas. It was a very mixed encounter…

Have you ever seen foam made out of salt? I hadn’t, until we started to drive towards the campground where we would stay before we would go to meet the whales. I assumed the Great Salt Lake would be salt foam city, but maybe the lack of waves doesn’t allow the bubbles to form.

I will list what I have learned about whales

1. Baby whales are so dam cute…….. a four week old whale went “bump bump ” on the boat, and left splashing all around, happy to have given us a scare.
2. Baby whales sometimes are attracted to the sound of the motor, but only the ones that are 4 weeks old or older.
3. Baby grey whales are about 400-500 pounds.
4. There is a 9 kilometer area know to be where most of the mateing happens.
5. Grey whales mate two males and one female at a time.
6. The males help each other to achieve successful penetration.
7. The second male might lift the female and other male upwards, sometimes lifting a whale off of the water.
8. Females conceive every other year.
9. They only have one baby whale, no twins for them, good thing because…
10. baby whales drink 200 to 250 litters of milk a day.
11. Grey whales like to go into the Sea of Cortez because sharks don’t.
12. Sharks don’t like the area because is too shallow.
13. When a baby is born, it floats to the top, until they learn how to swim.
14. The high salt content helps the flotation of baby whales.
15. The depth of water where they give birth is sometimes only 9 meters deep.

This information comes from the courtesy of our guide.

As we were going back towards land, we were greeted by a dolphin. What a way to say bye.

As we drove towards La Paz we took a detour road and took a short with the portable shower bag we have on top of wiggles. What a refreshing feeling, it is to take a shower in a desert location with cactus all around and shampooing my hair was just ecstasy.

La Paz was the place for errands, and the lack of street sings allowed us to get to see the whole city. La Paz, has great food, beautiful views and amazing people. The people are incredibly nice and welcoming. Wiggles got a change of oil and filter, and we got to clean the air filter, I’m glad because it was pretty dirty. The mechanic was amazing, and taught me a lot. Thanks for the coffee and good conversation.

Went to eat at El Vado where Thad was able to enjoy shrimp wrapped in bacon, and cheese. It was incredible, along with a big bowl of guacamole, and 3 different salsas. It was a succulent meal, and to finish the night in a good mood we played a joke on Chihiro. Thad started to joke about “dine and dash” and told Chihiro that we will be leaving. A while later she went to the bathroom, we to;d the waiter to tell her that we had left. All the waiters were playing along. Our server even took the already paid bill to her, that is when she said ” I don’t have an any money with me, can I work here? ”

We showed up and laughed for a while, she jokingly said “Is what you guys did racist?” we laughed some more and realized that all the other servers were also laughing. It was a good night, and the server really liked Chihiro and her attitude towards the “dine and dash”.

Lessons learned in La Paz

1. You depend on getting directions from strangers.
2. If you are attempting to mail a package internationally, go to the aduana first, if the item is of high value, go then to the DHL, otherwise the correo.
3. Auto Zone is exactly like the ones in the US. It was like being transported to the ones I have visited before. McDonalds was visible from there.
4. Most of the time people will give you directions even if they don’t know where things are.
5. People are very polite and nice.
6. They open things late, and close early.
7. You need to go to Banjercito en Pichilingue to acquire the car permit.
8. If you drive a campmobil, or an Rv, you can get a 10 year pass and no deposit necessary. Otherwise you need a $ 200 deposit and the pass will only be for 180 days. I like Wiggles.

Today we are driving to Todos Santos where we will check out the surfing, and spend a few relaxing days at the beach.

It’s time for me to finish the process of cutting my hair short, and me and Thad will be buzzing out heads. Thanks Thad for all the support you give me, words can’t express how I feel about you, but I hope my actions reflect it.

Traveling can make a lot of things happen to you, some positive and some a little less positive. There is some stress that comes along with traveling, for example the applications for grad school, preparations for what to do after the next seven months, and the somewhat unsuccessful keeping up with family and friends. I enjoy the moment I’m living, and its hard to stare at the screen when outside Wiggles’ windows the locals are moving about their business, and when driving trough the country side I feel like I’m participating in a visual treasure hunt. I enjoyed locating the colorful, individualized and stylized monuments dedicated to deceased individuals, saints, the Virgin Mary and Jesus. I would like to stop in each one of them, and measure them, photograph them, creating a well informed Archeological inventory. Right now is not possible to accomplish this, since gathering all the proper information would take more than 3 hours for each one and we don’t have time for this. For now I will enjoy them as we pass through them.

We traveled for a few day trough Baja California Norte, and for the last stretch of the road, before getting into Baja California Sur, we were fortunate to ride the less traveled, and much more bumpy road. We followed the Sea of Cortez down the coast instead of the more traveled Highway on the Pacific Side. We found the first few clusters of a beautiful but strange Dr. Seuss cacti and saw many breathtaking coastal views.

The road was nice and smooth, from Punta Estrella until Puertecitos. The pavement was fresh and WIGGLES was wagging along. Punta San Fermin had a sea front that we had to investigate, where a beautiful view of the Sea of Cortez was crashing shallowly against black rocks. The view was very meditative and what I consider to be a very clean atmosphere. I assume Thad and Chihiro will write about this experience, so I won’t carry on too much about it.

After this amazing adventure at the sea, the road turned from paved into a road very seldom traveled. Around Punta Final we found a military post, where we are usually brought to a full stop and requested to step outside of the vehicle so they can do a quick search and send us on our way. The military in Mexico have been incredibly polite, and helpful, offering places to go and see, road information, and allowing us to take a picture with them. Growing up in the States I assumed every person with uniform, or with a position of authority and power would be intimidating, but so far the military stops have been quick and helpful.

The saguaro cacti were everywhere and they came in all sizes and shapes. After about an hour of driving the mountains started to show long shadows. The sun went down and the road was the only thing visible due to the headlights. After driving for more than an hour there were still no signs of paved roads, houses, or any kind of human foot print other than the road. After two hours of driving we finally saw 3 headlights ahead. We were happy to see those three cars far in the distance, since they were the signal of a paved road, We relaxed once we reached Highway 1. The paved road and a place to sleep were something we appreciated.

We went to a “Loncheria” inside a private house and asked for albondigas soup and a quesadilla. Before sleep we got out and looked up and saw and incredibly bright night sky. The Milky Way was clearly visible, it reminded me of the nights we’ve spent in the Southern Utah desert.

We arrived at Guerrero Negro and looked around the place. Then we got to do laundry at a laundromat where a lady shared some of her story with me. She was single and without kids. She enjoyed her freedom. She spoke of her family, I’m glad I spoke of the military in a agredable form, because she had a brother in the military, and she was very proud of him. She also spoke about how the weather has changed in the last couple of years, got hotter with heat waves that lasted months longer than usual.

After we went for a drive and found a perfect place to setup the GoPro to take a time lapse. The clouds were moving, the view was different and we were ready to have some fun. Me and Chihiro got on top of wiggles and posed, after many laughs we headed back to the city.

We waited 30 hours for the right weather, exploring the nearby town and trying to find wifi. Finding the right place out here in the Laguna Ojo de Liebre, considered one of the best whale watching spots in the world, was a bit tricky – mostly because we were looking for it at night.

Now that we’ve driven at night several times, despite attempts to avoid it, I’m beginning to second-guess the advice that we “shouldn’t drive at night in Mexico.” When I first heard someone say that I took the inflection in their voice to mean that there was some bandito danger, that we had some high chance of being robbed or worse at night. Since then several other people have reinforced that conclusion. But I think this sentiment might be a bit like the claim that “the north star is the brightest star” – completely false yet everyone repeats and believes it. Maybe it was originally a warning about pot-holes or difficult driving conditions. Either way, I find it no more dangerous to drive here at night than anywhere else.

Overall the driving experience is better than what I’m used to. In the states I often find myself at an intersection befuddled by the reaction time of the drivers around me. Back home it is quite common that when four people come to a four way stop from different directions at roughly the same time, they will gawk at each other waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Finally someone makes a move and then the decision cascades. Meanwhile the cars pile up behind them and maximum inconsideration has taken place. Here that never seems to happen. People treat STOP signs more reasonably. They slow down, actually look both ways, and then go if it is clear. This significantly reduces congestion and it is quite considerate. Perhaps the difference here is that people aren’t worried about being harassed by the local law, so they feel free to drive courteously. Whatever the reason, it is rather nice.

Another thing that is nice is the gas is nationalized in Mexico. This means that there is no point in driving around looking for the gas station with the best price – they are all the same. It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of nowhere or in a big city it is all the same. At first I didn’t know this, so I would look around trying to find the listed price of gas. In most places it is not even listed, which threw me off. Now I just have it filled up and then ask how much. Oh, and the best thing is that it is significantly cheaper than in the US. About $3.10 per gallon once we make the conversion. That’s a good thing because I’m eating a little more food than I calculated and Chihiro likes coffee, tea, alcohol and cigarettes. We calculated how much she would save if she quit everything but alcohol over the next 50 years and it was a quarter of a million US dollars. I think that’s a great argument for dropping those habits. You can pay for a whole house simply by giving them up and saving. Of course it would require actually saving ☺.

On the water we searched for whales, which was surprisingly easy. They were everywhere, traveling mostly in mother and child pairs and about a third of them were single males. Most would slowly move away from us after surfacing, so we took pictures from about 20 meters away. After about an hour of darting around the lagoon we crossed paths with a mother and a four-week-old baby. Most of the whales up until this point had stuck the middle of their backs out of the water, every now and then bringing their blowhole to the surface and spurting up a geyser. Sometimes when they swam away we say their tales at the surface. In the distance we saw one whale trying to spot where our engine was coming from. He pushed his face high above the surface, but he was too far away to get a great picture of.

This pair of whales gave us a completely different show. The baby was full of energy and very curious about us. He began wiggling around. It looked like mommy was saying “no”, but he couldn’t handle it. He swam towards us and I reached down to try to touch him. Angela was giddy, trying to touch the baby too. Then the whale turned and bumped into our boat. The jolt was quite impressive. It almost threw us all out into the water. On the other side of the boat the whale was swimming like he was very proud of himself. He did a little dance and then returned to mom. We all instantly fell in love with baby whales!

We pulled onto a small dirt path trying to find a way to the ruins I thought I saw. We parked a little past the end of the road on a rocky cliff, two meters away from a drop off that poured straight into the sea. The horizon was decorated with an endless shoreline of large rounded black rocks. As we explored we came upon the lower half of a whale’s skeleton. I have no idea what happened to the upper half, but I can imagine that someone might have fetched a decent price for it. Little crabs scurried into the cracks between the rocks as we walked. They reminded me of cockroaches. They might have even been cockroaches. Angela and I climbed back up the cliff face. My heart and I woke completely up for a small section of that climb that required me to just go for it without having a completely secure hold. It was one of those spots where one foot was in a good spot, but to get to the next hand hold I kind of had to trust everything to just that foot and then leap for the next hold. My knee bore the mark of my lack of grace by the time I reached the top. Angela seemed to have far less trouble than me, but then again she has quite a bit more grace than I do. All three of us climbed on Wiggles to take in the view. Chihiro was a bit nervous, but quickly came alive up there. “It is amazing” she kept saying over and over. I got excited because it was the first time that I felt that Chihiro was completely sharing the experience Angela and I were having, that she touched what we were out here for. As her confidence grew Angela had her stand up and grab the wind. She broke out into laughter as her coat danced and I tried to capture the moment with the camera.

Another military check point, which means getting out of the car while a single soldier casually looks around for about five seconds and Angela jokes with the guy holding the M-16. It is still remarkable to me how unintimidating these encounters are. I can’t remember a single time when I didn’t feel intimidated in the United States around men with officially sanctioned power. In the states there is always good reason for my heart to quicken around flashing lights, or a badge, even when I know I’m not speeding, or doing anything intentionally wrong. There is a reasonable probability that at any moment I will be picked on, made an example of, or be at the bad end of some bully’s need to make a show of his power. Here the road is speckled with military personas carrying guns, but I’ve never seen any of them grab those guns like they were about to shoot me or anyone else just for asking questions. They just don’t seem to think of their job in the same way as their counterparts in the states. It is quite refreshing. I’ve never felt this sense of freedom to just move around with so little worries. The man with the gun told us that we had at least 70 more kilometers of rough dirt road ahead of us. From the Sea of Cortez side of Baja this road is the only way to where we are going – unless we want to backtrack a few hundred kilometers. Isn’t it cute, I’m thinking in kilometers already. J My Spanish is coming along too. I’m not really speaking much yet, but I’m starting to understand more of what is said around me and at this point I definitely know what “tope” means. I used to say that I can understand a lot of what people are saying in Spanish but I can’t talk back – like a dog. Now I think I’m surpassing the amount of Spanish that the dogs around here know. I can’t say for sure though because the dogs around here are a bit different from the US dogs. They are free and happy. Sure, they run the risk of getting killed by cars with all that freedom, but they also get to live a real dog’s life in the meantime.

The drive from Ensenada gave us plenty of beautiful towns dressed in white plaster with the sea behind them, pictures can’t give enough credit to how beautiful it was.

We are now in San Felipe, where the food and the people are the best. I can understand why this spot is considered to be a must see tourist destination. We drove towards San Felipe, and found some incredible sights. Marie wasn’t able to contain herself when she saw the great boulders and she had to go climb them. San Felipe is a beautiful town and it is where I spent my 32nd birthday. Thanks Chihiro for being so sneaky and buying candles, it was an unexpected but very welcomed birthday present.

This morning we were going to go running on the beach but found a small ball and ended up playing ball as we ran. It was great exercise and afterwards I felt incredibly happy and tired. After walking around the city, we found the monument to the Virgin Mary with an amazing view to the ocean and an abandoned building that used to be called Boom Boom.

Now it’s time to meet every one at a karoke bar and enjoy some dinner.

In many places the central desert of Baja Mexico looks a lot like Utah. As we crossed it I felt flashes of familiarity, of the comforts of being at home. As I’ve been adjusting to this new life I’ve had many different thoughts running through my head. It is strange to be completely uprooted, not having a home, blowing around so freely in the wind, and yet it is also exhilarating. I’ve planned for this transition as well as I could and now its time to face the unexpected.

Ive been thinking about something Lucas told me during our last hot spring trip. He told me about the fake documentary that National Geographic made about “me.” I haven’t ever watched it, but according to Lucas their aim was to reject Mezrich’s book. Somehow they had gotten the idea that he was glorifying my actions. In their view what I had done was a crime against humanity and anyone that attempted to see me as a human, or understand my actions, was to blame for the downfall of humanity. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. I know I shouldn’t care, but it bothers me that people push such an immoral perspective on the world and then turn around and claim their position to be moral.

I’ve spent a lot of time around people, and I’ve come to know quite a bit about human suffering, the troubles we face, the dilemmas, the difficulties that everyone strives to overcome. Through it all it has become quite clear to me that the seed of morality is found in the willingness to attempt to understand instead of judge, to help instead of condemn, and to embrace the complex and sometimes competing forces that drive our lives instead of pretending that they can be separated or pulled apart.

So I say this to the creators of that “documentary” … It is too bad you weren’t willing to be open to the real story. Humans have an amazing capacity for striving for their dreams, an unbounded willingness to seek love, and a very interesting ability to think outside of their socially encoded rules when the first two goals necessitate it. Instead of automatically condemning me, so you can buddy up with your right wing stiffs, maybe you would benefit from recognizing that you too wish you had the courage to risk living. Sure I broke some rules, and yes, because people were sent to prison harm was caused. But the rules you support are to blame for that hurt more than anything else. Perhaps if you were willing to challenge the system from time to time you would see that it is keeping you down too. Perhaps if you took a deep breath and tried to make a decision, without looking to everyone else around you to make it for you, you would realize that what you really want is to live and love. If you were fortunate enough to have the chance to make that happen I can only wish that you would have the courage to try.

Of course, these words will most likely fall on deaf ears. Such is the way of the world. Meanwhile, I will keep living, exploring and loving. I cannot imagine a life richer than mine or more full of love. This moment, exactly as it is, is perfect. Thanks to all of you who are a part of my life. And most of all – thank you Angela for having the courage to live and love every moment!

Happy birthday Angela. Last year was in Hawaii, this year in Mexico, and next year??? We will see. xoxoxo

I am extremely grateful that my family and friend plans were able to merge in San Diego to bring a wholesome soulful close to 2012. Aunt Sonja and Uncle Joe welcomed us to a home cooked meal and shared photos from adventurous vacations including visiting penguins from an icebreaker ship. After saying good-bye with heart to heart hugs to the family, our group of friends concluded the year looking up at the stars and relatively bright moon over the pacific. We found an unmarked dirt lot close by to park and retreat underneath a warm down comforter for the night. I was recovering from a cold and was grateful for the welcoming flat pull-out. Two hours later rasping on the window caused my pupils to reengage while waking into the reality of my location and surroundings. Once it hit me the cops were out to harass I stood my ground with snide remarks making it clear that nobody should mess with my REM, especially when my body is in recovery mode. Thankfully, once they realized we were a group of traveling geeks out for sober adventures, they decided to let us get back to sleep. Waking into the first sunlight of the New Year with close friends fills my heart with joy. We wrapped up errands and made it to Santa Rosa in daylight where we found a chill spot to park for a couple nights. Our first evening beach walk came with $1 tacos filled with delicious guacamole and salsa. The waves romped onto the shore while little snowball birds scurried up and down in search of their food. Food is one of the best celebrations in life and the meals we’ve enjoyed here are among the best, especially when accompanied with Thad’s stories. Time is catching up to my distractible writing and I will wrap up this session with a thank you to Angela… for being the incredibly vivaciously beautiful being she is whom I am extremely grateful to be able to celebrate her birthday with in San Felipe. *)

Happy New Years, as we watched the waves crash against the shore and listened to the power of the waves we kissed and hugged and welcomed the New Year. A few hours we were woken up by the lights of police cars wondering why we were sleeping in an abandoned, quite open space with no visible signs of no trespassing or any kind of determent to pick that place to sleep. Talking with the cops wasn’t that bad, and after about 15 minutes, we went back to sleep. Lets just say that we slept until late and started heading over to Mexico. Bienvenidos, a Mexico. We took some side roads getting to Playa de Rosarito, and we got to see some of the country, getting an idea of why its important to not throw trash, but after all, it’s a cultural issue, and I am not a judge. We got to eat some amazing Mexican tacos at the beach, got to watch children play, and grownups hug and birds fly. The aura of the Playa is so relaxing, it made me feel like there was something too relaxing about it, its contagious, I relaxed, and asked for a beer. Then we got to see horses, and ride a horse called “Payaso” Later, as we looked for places to sleep, we found ourselves at a very local place. It seems that it was the fishermen location to sell wholesale, it was a very interesting experience. There’s too much to tell, but a highlight of the night was the visit to “Pizza a la Leña” where we were able to eat some gourmet food. I asked for “Camarones en Aguacate en salsa de chipotle” it was amazing, and every piece of food was a delight. Thad got to enjoy “Escargo”, and he gave me a taste, it was great. Tonight I shall say Good Night. Cheers Angela

Last night the four of us, Marie, Johnny, Angela and I, made it out to the beach in the dark in time for the stroke of midnight. The new year started and we were ready for our adventure. Shortly after we found a place near the railroad tracks to park for the night and sleep. We were all really tired. Around 3:00 am we woke to the tapping of metal on our window and flashlights invading our vehicles. Angela and I were too tired to react, so we pretended to still be asleep. Chihiro didn’t make a peep. In the other car Johnny and Marie were already talking to the cops. Marie was rather upset that they were bothering and interrogating us. I eventually opened the door and talked to the cop. He said that San Diego recently passed a law that no longer allows anyone to sleep in their vehicles. I looked at him like he must be making that up and asked, “what about motorhomes?” “They can’t either,” he said. I wondered how people sold motorhomes… “Buy this nice new motorhome, even though you can’t use it” – doesn’t sound like an effective sales pitch. Evidently the cop had no idea Chihiro was above us. Marie was answering the cop’s questions as shortly as she could. When he asked her, “How long have you been here?” she said, “Since last year.” That gave me a good laugh. After they gave us our driver’s licenses back the cops told us that we could stay there (I guess even they recognize some rules as ridiculous). The next morning we busied ourselves trying to get some errands done (printing out our insurance policies, trying to repair a camera part, etc.). By noon we were finally ready to drive towards Mexico. When we crossed the boarder we were all surprised to find that we weren’t stopped at all. We just drove through. Thanks to Jeff tweaking our phone plan we were able to navigate and we sailed on through until we reached Playas de Rosarito. The beach was a totally different experience. The atmosphere was full of freedom, the people carefree. There were taco and cerveza vendors on the sand, with their umbrellas, and grills. And there were horses :-). Angela and I got to ride a horse on the beach for the first time ever. We relaxed and ate carne asada tacos and cerveza. Then we walked the beach until sunset, which was full of deep colors and laughter. It was strange. My whole life I’ve always heard about how dangerous Mexico is, about how corrupt and oppressive the police are, yet already I can feel something completely different. Already it feels that there is less to fear from the police here than there is from the police in the US. Parked on a random street we played card games for a couple of hours, then walked around the town and found a wonderful French restaurant to eat at. The owner came and talked to us. He was quite friendly and the food was amazing. Escargo and Caesar salad for me :-). It is strange, I never really thought about eating anything but Mexican food in Mexico. I’m not sure why. It is awesome here. I feel safe and free. And in this random spot that we parked, we have a super strong wi-fi signal for free. I’ve NEVER experienced that in the states before. Come and join us. This adventure is just getting started. Loves, Thad

あけましておめでとうございます！！！！！ いつもありがとうございます！！！！！ 今年もよろしくお願いします！！！！ 誰かに今、お金も時間もなんでも自由にできるとしたら何をする？と聞かれるといつもドキュメンタリーを撮ると答えていた。ただ、毎日の生活をしていてそれにはいくら必要でどのくらいの時間が必要かなどは明確にはしていなかったし、どんなドキュメンタリーが撮りたいのかすらわからなかった。でも、やっと今、やるって言って２年もかかってしまったけど。ドキュメンタリーを撮ることにしました！！！「月の上でsex！？」ベストセラー書籍「sex on the moon」の題材にもなったThad Robertsとアメリカで育ちのかわいいラテン人、Angela Arvizuと新しい旅を始めます。7ヶ月に渡って、中米をキャンピングカーで駆け巡ります。まさに！ロード・ドキュメンタリー！！！！！！これから色々、アップしていきますので、お時間があるときに一緒に冒険してください。 Happy New Year Beautiful People!!!!!!!!! Thank you always!!!!! When people ask me if you have enough money and time to do everything you want I always answered I will make a documentary. But the days passed so quickly that I didn’t ever get around to finding out how much money and how much time I need to have to actually do it. I didn’t even know what kind of documentary I wanted to do. But now, I am finally truly making a documentary. It has been 2 years since I truly decided to make one. On December 26th 2012 Thad, Angela, and I started to travel from Northern and Central America to the Caribbean and it will be the 7months journey. I will tell you more story about this journey as we go. Let’s have adventure together!!!!! yes!! One of Main Charactor of this Documentary Thad Roberts, a former NASA employee whose ethereal crime caper inspired the book Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History. In 2002, Chihiro

Today we got ready and said our good byes to Chris, Chayton and Mike, then started driving towards San Diego from Tucson. As Chihiro and I took a nap, Thad drove. Once awake, it was time to see the scenery. There is something beautiful about the wind mills, something weird about the checkpoints, and something sad about the division wall between Mexico and the United States, the wall makes me feel like it supports and accepts differentiation between humans. Once we arrived to San Diego, we started working on finding the right Mexican insurance. Let me tell you, the process created some knots in my back, but finally the process was finished, thanks to the internet. Now we find ourselves with Joe and his wife in California and heading towards Coyotes for New Years, ready to drink and partake in Californian New Years festivities. For all of you making New Years resolutions, I wish you adventure. Angela

I’d like to thank everyone who made this such a wonderful year. I’m sending my love to all of you. Whichever way our paths go, whatever this year brings, may we all remain close and willing to love. I’m happy to travel through time with all of you! Jeff and Dave we are thinking of you – as always. Elaine, Phil, Matt and Erin, thank you for having us in your family, best family ever!! Chris (Panties) and Tom you rock – we miss your wittiness already. Maria happy 24th birthday (a couple of days ago). Chris, Mike and Chayton thanks for kicking off our adventure. It was wonderful to see you again. We will be hoping for visits from many of you (Marcus, Jason, Josh, Marc, Rebecca, Eric, Georgia, Janneke, Dawn, Karly, Keith, Mireille, Andrew, Emily, Kimberly, Jeff, Elias, Jim, Heather, Pack, Jassi, Kimberly, Ingo, Steven, and everyone else :-)). Thank you Tomoko and Chika for the beautiful, unforgettable memories. Faye and Michael let’s keep working on our project 🙂 you two are wonderful. Colleen thanks for being adventurous and Katelin I wish you many future travels. We are now in San Diego with Marie and Johnny, who will be joining us in Mexico for the first week. I’m super excited for tomorrow, but first – tonight’s party.